In 57/56 BC Julius Caesar sent Servius Galba with the Twelfth Legion and some cavalry to open the Great St Bernard Pass.

[4] In 1349 a wooden toll bridge and dam are mentioned near La Bâtiaz village (now part of Martigny).

[5] In 1595 the river flooded and destroyed a chapel in La Bâtiaz and damage in Bagnes.

[5] On 26 July 2006 the Drance flooded destroying a 400 m (1,300 ft) section of railway track and derailing a St. Bernard Express train.

High in the Alps it is fed by numerous small streams that run down the surrounding mountains.